Welcome to Hotel ABA

For the hundreds of ABA member booksellers staying at Hotel ABA -- The New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn -- participating in the association's education programming is easier than ever. ABA's "Day of Education," sponsored by Baker & Taylor, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, and the following Celebration of Bookselling, sponsored by Ingram Book Group/Ingram Publisher Services, will both be held at the hotel.

The festivities begin at Hotel ABA on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. with a Welcome to Brooklyn Kickoff Event featuring renowned historian David McCullough, followed by a series of walking tours led by some of the borough's literary luminaries. The tours will end with "A Taste of Brooklyn" reception at Brooklyn Borough Hall, with Borough President Marty Markowitz. ABA members should sign up now for the tours, which are limited to 25 people each.

As in year's past, from Wednesday through Friday, Hotel ABA guests will be greeted by ABA staff at a special Welcome Desk. Here, they can pick up a Welcome Bag full of items and information that will make their stay in New York a little easier. Materials include badge holders, convention guides, shuttle bus schedules, complimentary New York subway MetroCards courtesy of Frommer's, and more. Welcome Desk hours are Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, before heading over to the convention center, booksellers will be able to stop for morning coffee, compliments of Miramax, in the "Lobby Lounge," located next to the bar on the Marriott's Lobby Level (second floor). Coffee will be served from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. each day.

From 9:00 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, booksellers are invited to publisher-sponsored receptions in the Marriott's Legends Ballroom. Award-winning author Ann M. Martin will be the guest of honor at Scholastic's Wednesday night "Block Party" celebrating the publication of Welcome to Camden Falls, the first title in her newly launched Main Street series, as well as the spirit of Main Streets and locally owned businesses everywhere. A Presidential Memorabilia Exhibit and Reception is on tap Thursday night. The event, sponsored by Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will feature historians Barry Landau (The President's Table: 200 Years of Dining and Diplomacy, November 2007) and Jordan Wright (Campaigning for President, January 2008) and more than 80 objects from their private collections of presidential memorabilia. On Friday, Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, will be feted at a celebration marking the release of his new title, From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America (Beacon Press). The reception, sponsored by Beacon and the Friends of Chris Finan, will be a book signing, an ABFFE Fund Raiser, and a dessert party.

From Thursday through Sunday, the Route 5 Shuttle Bus will bring booksellers from the hotel to the Javits Center and back. The shuttle will run from the hotel to the convention center from 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. from Thursday through Sunday. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the shuttle will run from the convention center to the hotel from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, the last trip to the hotel will be at 6:00 p.m.

Hotel ABA is right across the street from a subway stop, and ABA members will be receiving a New York City subway MetroCard preloaded with six trips (three round trip fares) and packaged with subway directions to and from the Javits Center. Both will be enclosed in a convenient sleeve designed to commemorate Frommer's 50th anniversary.

"ABA is recommending that booksellers use the subway to travel to the Javits Center, especially on Friday, when traffic in lower Manhattan will be the heaviest," said ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz. "We'll be providing detailed instructions for travel to Penn Station, where booksellers can hop on a Shuttle Bus for a short trip to the convention center. We'll also have directions for those who prefer to make the short walk from Penn Station to the Javits Center."

Hotel ABA guests will have the convenience of storing packages at a Bag Check Room at the Javits Convention Center from Friday, June 1, through Sunday, June 3, courtesy of HarperCollins. Rather than carrying books and other materials back to the hotel in Brooklyn or from booth to booth at the trade show, hotel guests will be able to store packages at the Hotel ABA Book Drop in Room 1C01 of the Javits Center. Hours of operation will be Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Hotel ABA is full. Booksellers with room reservations at Hotel ABA - Brooklyn who are no longer planning to use them are asked to contact ABA as soon as possible so that the rooms can be offered to other booksellers on the waiting list. To cancel reservations, contact ABA's Margaret Nafz at (800) 637-0037, ext. 6614 or e-mail [email protected]. Cancellations should not be made through the hotel.